radiation which beamed from the summit by night.  Far and wide over the stormy waters of the Mediterranean this meteor glowed, inviting and guiding the mariners in; and both its welcome and its guidance were doubly prized in those ancient days, when there was neither compass nor sextant on which they could rely.  In the course of the contest with the Egyptians, Caesar took possession of the Pharos, and of the island on which it stood; and as the Pharos was then regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world, the fame of the exploit, though it was probably nothing remarkable in a military point of view, spread rapidly throughout the world.

[Sidenote:  It is captured by Caesar.]

And yet, though the capture of a light-house was no very extraordinary conquest, in the course of the contests on the harbor which were connected with it Caesar had a very narrow escape from death.  In all such struggles he was accustomed always to take personally his full share of the exposure and the danger.  This resulted in part from the natural impetuosity and ardor of his character, which were always aroused to double intensity of action by the excitement of battle, and partly from the ideas of the military duty of a commander which prevailed in those days.  There was besides, in this case, an additional inducement to acquire the glory of extraordinary exploits, in Caesar’s desire to be the object of Cleopatra’s admiration, who watched all his movements, and who was doubly pleased with his prowess and bravery, since she saw that they were exercised for her sake and in her cause.

[Sidenote:  Situation of the Pharos.] [Sidenote:  Caesar’s personal danger.] [Sidenote:  Caesar’s narrow escape.]

The Pharos was built upon an island, which was connected by a pier or bridge with the main land.  In the course of the attack upon this bridge, Caesar, with a party of his followers, got driven back and hemmed in by a body of the enemy that surrounded them, in such a place that the only mode of escape seemed to be by a boat, which might take them to a neighboring galley.  They began, therefore, all to crowd into the boat in confusion, and so overloaded it that it was obviously in imminent danger of being upset or of sinking.  The upsetting or sinking of an overloaded boat brings almost certain destruction upon most of the passengers, whether swimmers or not, as they seize each other in their terror, and go down inextricably entangled together, each held by the others in the convulsive grasp with which drowning men always cling to whatever is within their reach.  Caesar, anticipating this danger, leaped over into the sea and swam to the ship.  He had some papers in his hand at the time—­plans, perhaps, of the works which he was assailing.  These he held above the water with his left hand, while he swam with the right.  And to save his purple cloak or mantle, the emblem of his imperial dignity, which he supposed the enemy would eagerly seek to obtain as a trophy, he seized it by a corner between his teeth, and drew it after him through the water as he swam toward the galley.  The boat which he thus escaped from soon after went down, with all on board.